Sexual Orientation,Relationships with Parents,Stress, and Depressive Symptoms among Adults

Disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation have been well documented, but less is known about their origins. This study examines whether, even in adulthood, less favorable parental relationships are associated with disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation. Cross-sectional data were drawn from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) participants reported lower quality parental relationships, greater stress, and more depressive symptoms than did heterosexual participants. Lower quality parental relationships were associated with higher stress. Higher stress and lower quality parental relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. GLB individuals reported lower father relationship quality and higher stress, which partially mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. Lesbian and bisexual women reported lower mother relationship quality and higher stress, which fully mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. While no differences in mother relationship quality existed for men, mother relationship quality was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms for gay and bisexual men than for heterosexual men. Even in adulthood, greater stress and depressive symptoms among GLB individuals were at least partially accounted for by less favorable parental relationships.     

Relational Self‐Construal as a Moderator of Social Support in Career Decision Making

The authors examined relational self‐construal as a moderator of the influence of social support on career decision‐making difficulties among 352 college students (65% women, 63% Caucasian). Results of hierarchical regression analyses supported the hypothesis that individuals with higher relational self‐construal reported fewer difficulties in terms of lack of information and inconsistent information in career decision making as social support increased. Social support, however, did not reduce career decision‐making difficulties for those with lower relational self‐construal. Relational self‐construal did not moderate the relationship between social support and lack of readiness in career decision‐making difficulties as expected, possibly because of conceptual and measurement issues. Results suggest counselors work from relational and contextual perspectives to foster clients' self‐views and to use social support to facilitate their career decision making.     

Computer Science Majors: Sex Role Orientation,Academic Achievement,and Social Cognitive Factors

This study examined the sex role orientations endorsed by 188 male and female students majoring in computer science, a male‐dominated college degree program. The relations among sex role orientation and academic achievement and social cognitive factors influential in career decision‐making self‐efficacy were explored. Findings revealed that androgynous‐ and feminine‐oriented students scored significantly higher on career decision‐making self‐efficacy as compared with undifferentiated students. No significant sex role orientation differences were found for academic achievement and general and career locus of control.     

Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Former Foster Youth: A Comparison of Abuse Experiences and Trauma-Related Beliefs

The current study compared the abuse experiences of 108 sexual minority and heterosexual former foster youth who received scholarships through the Orphan Foundation of America. Participants used an anonymous online survey to answer questions regarding their history of physical and sexual abuse. All participants who reported a history of sexual abuse also completed the Trauma Related Beliefs questionnaire (TRB; Hazzard, 1993). Differences across sexual orientation were observed in sexual, but not physical, abuse rates and in the Self-Blame/Stigmatization subscale of the TRB. Specifically, sexual minority participants reported more incidents of sexual abuse, as well as higher scores on the TRB subscale, than did heterosexual participants. These results suggest that sexual orientation is relevant to the experience of abuse among children in the child welfare system.     

Decision‐Making Styles,Career Decision Self‐Efficacy,and Career Adaptability Among High School Students

We investigated the relationships between decision‐making styles, career decision self‐efficacy, and career adaptability among high school students. We also sought to determine whether gender moderates the relationships among these three constructs. A total of 216 Serbian final‐year high school students responded to career adaptability and decision‐making measures. Results of structural equation modeling showed that career decision self‐efficacy mediates a positive relationship between the rational and intuitive styles and a negative relationship between the dependent style and career adaptability. The rational style only had a direct effect on career adaptability. Gender moderated one path—a regression weight of self‐efficacy on career adaptability. For male students, self‐efficacy was not a significant predictor of career adaptability. The results suggest that career counselors might approach students differently depending on students' gender and that the role of gender in career decision‐making and adaptability processes should be investigated further.     

Processes of Sexual Orientation Questioning among Heterosexual Women

Because very little is known about heterosexual identity development, this study assesses and describes sexual orientation questioning processes of heterosexual-identified women and offers a comparison of these processes with those employed by their sexual-minority counterparts. Participants included 333 female college students (ages 18–23; M = 19.2): 228 participants primarily identified as “exclusively straight/heterosexual,” and 105 participants indicated a sexual-minority identity. Sixty-seven percent of exclusively heterosexual respondents (n = 154) indicated having thought about or questioned their sexual orientation. The processes by which heterosexual participants described questioning their sexual orientation were coded for the presence of five emergent categories using an inductive thematic coding methodology. These five categories included unelaborated questioning (19%), other-sex experiences (16%), exposure to sexual minorities (26%), assessment of same-sex attraction (48%), and evaluations of same-sex behavior (26%). Several unifying and differentiating themes emerged between sexual orientation groups. Results from this study suggest that contemporary young women's heterosexuality is not necessarily an unexamined identity; indeed, the large majority of young women in this sample were deliberately identifying as heterosexual after contemplating alternative possibilities.     

Academic Support Services and Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy in Student Athletes

This study examined the relationship between evaluations of academic support services and student athletes’ career decision‐making self‐efficacy. One hundred and fifty‐eight NCAA athletes (68% male) from 11 Division I teams completed measures of satisfaction with their academic support services, career decision‐making self‐efficacy, general self‐efficacy, and locus of control. Results indicated that evaluations of academic support services were positively related to levels of career decision‐making self‐efficacy. In addition, this relationship was moderated such that student athletes with lower levels of general self‐efficacy and internal locus of control benefited more from positive experiences with academic support services. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Links between past abuse,suicide ideation,and sexual orientation among San Diego college students

The authors explored relationships among childhood abuse, suicidal ideation, and sexual orientation of 18- to 30-year-old students enrolled in 2 San Diego area colleges, using responses from anonymous questionnaires. Sixty percent of the 138 eligible respondents were women, and 22% were self-identified gay/bisexual individuals. Women were more likely than men to report at least 1 form of emotional abuse (odds ratio [OR] = 2.3; p =.02) and unwanted sexual touching (OR = 4.3; p = .0004). Lesbian/bisexual women were significantly more likely to report past suicidal ideation than were heterosexual women (OR = 3.7, p = .03). Gay/bisexual men were more likely to report unwanted sexual touching than were heterosexual men (OR = 5.1, p = .04), but the men did not report significantly higher rates of past suicide ideation or suicide attempts. Sexual orientation and a past history of child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse could be compounding risk factors for suicidal ideation among college students.     

Correlates of Same-Sex Sexuality in Heterosexually Identified Young Adults

Currently, little is known about heterosexually identified individuals who nonetheless acknowledge same-sex interests. To address this shortcoming, the prevalence of same-sex attractions, fantasies, and experiences among heterosexually identified college students was examined, as well as differences between those who are exclusively heterosexual in their interests and those who are nonexclusive because they report some same-sex attractions or fantasies. Students (N = 243) at a large, Northeastern university completed an online survey providing information about their sexual orientation identity; same- and other-sex attractions, fantasies, and behaviors; and demographic, sexual history, and sexual attitudes variables. Compared to exclusive heterosexual women, nonexclusive women were more liberal in their political and sexual attitudes and had greater sexual experience. Nonexclusive men were virtually indistinguishable from exclusive heterosexual peers on assessed variables. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the nature and meaning of non-heterosexuality in contemporary Western society.     

Sexual Orientation,Unemployment and Participation: Are Gays Less Employable than Straights?

This paper is the first attempt to assess, in a unified econometric framework, the existence and the magnitude of both the sexual orientation participation gap and the sexual orientation unemployment gap. Having identified male same-sex couples using the Employment Survey, we use a bivariate probit selection model where the labor supply and the employment equation are jointly estimated for the French labor market. The results show that both participation and employment probabilities are significantly lower for gay employees compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Further investigations indicate that young gay workers, particularly, are more exposed to the unemployment risk than older ones. The beginning of a professional career and the subsequent entry to the labor market appear to be difficult steps to overcome for gay workers who spend more time than their heterosexual counterparts to find the good job.     

Balancing the Scales: Negotiating Father's Parental Leave Use

Studying couples who shared parental leave presents the opportunity to explore decision‐making processes that may challenge conventional care arrangement typical of early parenthood. Interviews with 33 Canadian heterosexual couples indicate gendered sticking points in the division of official leave time. Whether fathers took leave because of their personal desires or material circumstances, this study finds that men and women did not enter negotiations on a level playing field. Strong cultural support for mothers'–but not fathers'–time with baby tipped the scales toward maternal care giving, even when couples wanted to share parental leave. Nevertheless, financial considerations such as a man's topped‐up pay or woman's career could lessen the weight of mothers’ moral entitlement to the leave time by presenting couples with an alternative logic on which to base their decision making.     

Androgen and psychosexual development: core gender identity, sexual orientation and recalled childhood gender role behavior in women and men with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)

We assessed core gender identity, sexual orientation, and recalled childhood gender role behavior in 16 women and 9 men with CAH and in 15 unaffected female and 10 unaffected male relatives, all between the ages of 18 and 44 years. Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) recalled significantly more male-typical play behavior as children than did unaffected women, whereas men with and without CAH did not differ. Women with CAH also reported significantly less satisfaction with the female sex of assignment and less heterosexual interest than did unaffected women. Again, men with CAH did not differ significantly from unaffected men in these respects. Our results for women with CAH are consistent with numerous prior reports indicating that girls with CAH show increased male-typical play behavior. They also support the hypotheses that these women show reduced heterosexual interest and reduced satisfaction with the female sex of assignment. Our results for males are consistent with most prior reports that boys with CAH do not show a general alteration in childhood play behavior. In addition, they provide initial evidence that core gender identity and sexual orientation are unaffected in men with CAH. Finally, among women with CAH, we found that recalled male-typical play in childhood correlated with reduced satisfaction with the female gender and reduced heterosexual interest in adulthood. Although prospective studies are needed, these results suggest that those girls with CAH who show the greatest alterations in childhood play behavior may be the most likely to develop a bisexual or homosexual orientation as adults and to be dissatisfied with the female sex of assignment.     

School social work with gay,lesbian and bisexual students: The case of Fairfax County

Teenagers who are coming to terms with their sexual orientation are a high-risk population in terms of substance abuse and suicide. They are often in need of counseling, especially when the school climate is hostile towards lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) students. School officials in Fairfax County, Virginia, are reluctant to address the issue of sexual orientation, and school social workers must abide by the policies of the school. Community resources for LGB teenagers are scarce in this affluent county. It is the author's opinion that school social workers have an obligation to be advocates for oppressed populations, including GLB youth, and should take a leading role in promoting a climate of safety, acceptance and freedom from harassment.     

Distressing Sexual Difficulties in Heterosexual and Non-Heterosexual Croatian Men: Assessing the Role of Minority Stress

Although research has shown a connection between minority stressors and internalizing mental health problems, the role of minority stress has mainly been neglected in the assessment of sexual problems among non-heterosexual men. Using online samples of heterosexual (n = 933) and non-heterosexual participants (n = 561) aged 18 to 50 years, this study aimed to comparatively assess sexual difficulties and problems and explore the role of minority stress in non-heterosexual men's sexual problems. Although the age-adjusted odds of reporting rapid ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, and sex-related anxiousness significantly differed between the two groups, the overall prevalence of sexual difficulties and the associated levels of distress did not significantly differ between the samples. In multivariate assessment, anxiety and depression significantly increased the odds of reporting distressing sexual difficulties among both heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants. In the non-heterosexual sample, positive body image significantly decreased the odds of experiencing sexual problems. Pointing to a role of minority stress, highest levels of victimization related to sexual orientation increased the risk of sexual problems. This association was partially mediated by negative emotions. Our findings offer some support for a recent call to include sexual orientation among the social determinants of health recognized by the World Health Organization.     

Adolescents' Career Decision‐Making Process: Related to Quality of Attachment to Parents?

This longitudinal study examined how adolescents' perceptions of attachment security with parents relate to their process of choosing a major in higher education. The participants were 281 students who were investigated at the beginning, middle, and end of Grade 12. Findings showed that higher perceived security with mother, but not with father, predicted higher levels of coping with the career decisional tasks of orientation, broad and in‐depth environmental exploration, and self‐exploration in the future. However, perceived security did not relate to the degree of change in decisional tasks during Grade 12. Finally, results suggested that the association between perceived security with mother and the decisional tasks of orientation, broad and in‐depth environmental exploration, and self‐exploration was mediated by adolescents' career decision‐making self‐efficacy.     

Fraternal Birth Order,Handedness, and Sexual Orientation in a Chinese Population

We examined the relationship between handedness, fraternal birth order, and sexual orientation in a Chinese population, and analyzed the influence of the components assessing sexual orientation and criteria classifying individuals as homosexual on this relationship. A large sample of heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men and women participated in a web-based survey. Our results showed that homosexual women are more likely to be non-right-handed than heterosexual women, regardless of how sexual orientation was defined, whereas bisexual women are more likely to be non-right-handed than heterosexual women when sexual orientation was assessed via sexual attraction and sexual identity. Bisexual men are more likely to be non-right-handed than heterosexual men when sexual orientation was assessed via sexual attraction. We found neither a fraternal birth-order effect nor an interaction between sibling sex ratio, handedness, and sexual orientation. The small number of siblings may be the reason why we could not replicate the fraternal birth-order effect in this Chinese population, which highlights the importance of cultural differences in the understanding of handedness, fraternal birth order, and sexual orientation.     

Affirmative Practice and Alternative Sexual Orientations: Helping Clients Navigate the Coming Out Process

Those who differ from the dominant heterosexual ideal of exclusively other-sex attraction and intimacy encounter unique challenges, such as the coming out process, during which individuals with alternative sexual orientations must explore, define, and disclose their orientations in a way straight individuals need not. This article focuses on how clinicians can aid clients throughout the coming out process in a way that affirms the full range of sexual orientations. Following an overview of alternative sexual orientations and models of the coming out process, a case example is used to illustrate how clinicians can help clients address three challenges of coming out: overcoming internalized biases; clarifying their sexual orientation and identity; and making decisions about disclosure.     

The Relationship Between Race and Students' Identified Career Role Models and Perceived Role Model Influence

The authors examined whether college students' race was related to the modal race of their identified career role models, the number of identified career role models, and their perceived influence from such models. Consistent with A. Bandura's (1977, 1986) social learning theory, students tended to have role models whose race was the same as their own, and this finding held among career role models who were not members of students' families. Caucasian and racial minority students did not differ respecting overall number of, and perceived influence from, career role models. Career intervention and research implications are discussed.     

Coping with victimization in heterosexual and sexual minority university students

This study examined perceived social support available to victims of traditional and cyber forms of bullying in a heterosexual and sexual minority emerging adult university student population. Questionnaires were completed by 521 students ages 18 to 25 years old. The questions related to their sexuality, experience of bullying, and perception of social support. Perceived social support was lower for sexual minority individuals than for heterosexual individuals only when no bullying behavior was present. No significant differences in perceived social support between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals were found when they were traditionally bullied, cyberbullied, or experienced both forms of bullying victimization. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Predictor Factors Associated with Premarital Sexual Behaviors Among University Students in an Islamic Culture

ABSTRACT

We examined premarital sexual behaviors among Turkish university students and the predictor factors for these behaviors. The study included 638 eligible students (256 women and 382 men). Masturbation was reported by 53.3% of the participants, and sexual intercourse experience was reported by 26.3%. Men, heterosexual orientation, and non-religious/liberal religiosity were predictor factors for masturbation and premarital sexual intercourse/foreplay experience. Men having more sexual experiences than women may indicate gender double standards, while heterosexual orientation as a predictor of sexual behaviors could relate to homophobia, still prominent in Turkey. These findings highlight Islam's restrictive attitude towards sexuality despite continued Western influences.